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Kenyan President sacks entire cabinet

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Kenya’s under-fire President William Ruto has dismissed with “immediate effect” all his ministers and the attorney-general, following the recent deadly protests that led to the withdrawal of an unpopular tax bill.
The president said the move came after “reflection, listening to Kenyans, and after holistic appraisal of my cabinet”.

He has said he will now consult widely in order to set up a broad-based government.

The dissolution of his cabinet does not affect the deputy president, who can’t legally be fired, and the prime cabinet secretary who is also the foreign affairs minister.

Mr Ruto said that government operations would continue uninterrupted under the supervision of senior civil servants.

He said he would consult “across different sectors and political formations and other Kenyans, both in public and private” over a new government, but did not say when it would be announced.

The dramatic move is highly unusual, coming less than two years after he took office.

Three of the sacked ministers were MPs before leaving their legislative roles to join the cabinet barely two years ago.

One of them is Aden Duale, who in a prompt post on X (formerly Twitter) thanked the president and said he would “forever be indebted to him and the people of Kenya for this opportunity to serve” as Kenya’s defence minister.

Last Thursday, President Ruto chaired a cabinet meeting which one of the local newspapers described as the “last supper” for the ministers.

Some of the ministers were linked to corruption scandals that led to the suspension of senior government officials within several ministries. But Mr Ruto had defended them, saying that there were no evidence to sack them.

Last October, Mr Ruto announced a mini-cabinet reshuffle that affected at least eight ministers.

The last time an entire cabinet was dissolved was in 2005 when then President Mwai Kibaki did so shortly after losing a referendum over a new constitution.

Mr Ruto has been under pressure from Kenyans who have continued holding anti-government protests and demanding more accountability from government, even though he agreed to withdraw his controversial tax rises.

Some of the protesters have been calling for the president to go.

Last week, Mr Ruto announced a number of austerity measures across various government agencies.

He also ordered a freeze in proposed pay rises for members of his cabinet and parliament following a public outcry.

(BBC News)

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Ranil to appear before CIABOC on Monday

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Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe will appear before the Bribery Commission on April 28 over the statement he had made on MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake, his lawyers have informed the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC).

Wickremesinghe was initially summoned by the CIABOC on April 17 in relation to a statement he had made about the bribery case filed against New Democratic Front MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake.

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Vijitha to attend Pope Francis’s Funeral Mass

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath will represent the Government of Sri Lanka at the funeral of His Holiness Pope Francis.

The late Pope’s funeral is scheduled to be held on April 26, 2025 in Saint Peter’s Square, Vatican City.

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President makes sudden visit to Kandy (Pics)

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President Anura Kumara Disanayake last night (April 24) conducted an inspection tour of Kandy city to inspect the “Siri Dalada Wandanawa” and the related issues that have emerged.

The President held an urgent meeting with relevant officials to address issues related to the provision of facilities and sanitation for devotees visiting the “Siri Dalada Wandanawa”.

Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lalkantha, Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa Nilanga Dela Bandara, Acting Inspector General of Police Priyantha Weerasuriya, Army Commander Lieutenant General Lasantha Rodrigo, Governor of the Central Province Prof. Sarath Abeykoon, Kandy District Secretary Indika Udawatte and others participated in this meeting.

(President’s Media Division)

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